Towson Baseball Wins CAA Tournament

The Towson Tigers baseball team is going to the NCAA Tournament, after winning the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Saturday by beating William & Mary 5-2.

It was the second win in as many days for Towson over William & Mary.

The team earns the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The pairing for the 64-team field will be announced Monday.

Towson had beaten William & Mary on Friday 20-13, setting the stage for Saturday's rematch.

Senior right hander Mike Volpe pitched for the Tigers on two days rest, retiring 11 of the last 12 batters he faced. He pitched the first complete game of his career.

ôFatigue was not a factor for me at all,ö Volpe said after the game.

ôAfter the first inning, I took something off my fast ball and tried not to do too much. After I walked a guy in the ninth inning, the defense turned another double play and that wrapped it up for us.ö

Junior Kurt Wertz led the offense by going two-for-four with three RBIÆs. He hit a solo homer and a vital two-run double in the ninth inning.

Third baseman Zach Fisher was named as the CAA TournamentÆs Most Valuable Player. He batted .476 with a double, three home runs and 10 RBIÆs.

The CAA Tournament win came more than two months after the university announced plans to eliminate both the baseball and men's soccer team.

After protests from the team, and objections from Comptroller Peter Franchot and some state lawmakers, the university reversed its decision on the baseball team.

The Maryland General Assembly this year approved $300,000 in the capital budget that would go to the University System of Maryland which could then use the money to help restore the baseball team.

The team would then be forced to raise $100,000 by the end of June to keep the team operating, and more money next year.

Earlier this week, Towson University Athletics Director Mike Waddell, who was one of the university officials who recommended eliminating the baseball team, announced that he is leaving the university for a position at the University of Arkansas.